I'm a Bit Closer to Believing

[thehefner]

After my week of struggle and angst culminating in the latest LJ entry, leave it to chickenhat to make my day:



I'm utterly moved. As Bloo remarked, "I want buttons."

And speaking of Bloo...

In addition to my new poster/postcard design, Bloo and I started batting around a couple other ideas. She was wondering if there was some way I could play with that "in the shadow of Hugh Hefner" motif, maybe having the shadow of a bunny (HARVEY-style?) behind me or something. I turned down that idea, then jokingly remarked that I might hand out black postcards, just pitch black, and say "That's a photo of me in the shadow of Hugh Hefner."

Then we came up with doing a separate series of teaser postcards. No image, no info on the front, just black matte postcards with the sentence, "Meet the Black Sheep of the White Bunny Family." The text would be white, but the word "black" would be in a darker shade of black than the rest of the card, and glossy too. That just might stand out and pique curiosity amid all the other postcards.

Two sets of postcards. Yeah, this just might work after all.

Now I'm just going to need to step up the marketing of HOW HEFNERIAN when I do it in Orlando. Maybe do an illustrated guide of what is and what isn't Hefnerian, ala those "Do/Don't" pictorials. Do it in three columns of images: "Comedy," "Tragedy," and "Hefnerian."

Heh. Once I get back to work after my break, let's bump this shit up a notch. Bam!

Comments

[gore-whore-5.livejournal.com]

That postcard idea sounds AWESOME! So does the Comedy, Tragedy, Hefnerian thing. That has Lea's 100% Stamp of Approval. Want. Very much want. Do it fast so I can see!

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

The Comedy, Tragedy, Hefnerian thing is gonna take a lot more thought and skill than I can pull off right now. It's cool, I have till May-ish, assuming I get into Orlando.

[spacechild.livejournal.com]

I think that this would be pushing the Hugh Hefner thing too much.

Honestly, you don't live in his shadow. It's a funny bit to touch on, but I wouldn't make it that big a theme.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really don't live in his shadow, but the thought that I did was what drove some of my neuroses in the first show.

That said, pally, the fact that some people really do want me to push the Hugh Hefner thing--rather than try to push my own merits--at least puts me near his shadow, wouldn't you say?

[spacechild.livejournal.com]

Not at all.

I think people want you to take the obvious and easy path. I think it would cheapen the brilliance of your work. Just my opinion.

And I really don't think that people wanting you to push the Hugh thing puts you further into his shadow.

Most of those friends, when they hear "Hefner", probably think of you before they think of him. That puts you further out from his shadow.

BTW.. did you see where I made a bunch of scans daily kids cry in the Watchmen post today?

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Agreed, and while some will argue that the obvious and easy path is what it is because I have a rare and golden opportunity that 99% of other artists do not and I'd be a fool not to use it... I'd rather try to make it as a fool first.

Aaaaand I just read it. Yeesh, you shoulda bailed out from the start, pally. That's just everyone digging themselves further in. I agree with your snark, but hey, the person reading it hasn't gotten very far (she thinks they're going to continue Jon's blue wang), so she's yet to see the brilliance. Let's face it, if WATCHMEN were coming out today, and this was the latest issue to come out this week (as new to us as it is to her) those pages would totally have been posted up on scans_daily. She's just catching up, methinks.

[spacechild.livejournal.com]

I'm just saying.. one snarky comment and they all start crying like a 6 year old girl with a skinned knee.

Take your midol, kids.

[pokeyburro.livejournal.com]

You need a shot of yourself holding the rose up, partially obscuring your face. Cropped around the head.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Maybe if someone has mad photoshop skillz so we ca see how it looks, otherwise I'm not gonna shell out four hundred bucks for another shot just to inch the rose up closer.

[pokeyburro.livejournal.com]

Fair point. I think you don't need Photoshop though. (At least, the rose in your picture is at the wrong angle for what I'm thinking.) Unless you're going to blow this up to poster size, just a plain camera will get you the shot I'm thinking.

Trouble is, with that hat, the shot I'm thinking of starts become more reminiscent of Clockwork Orange. Phooey...

[pokeyburro.livejournal.com]

Just to be clearer, I really kinda only meant for you to have something button-size with this. Or perhaps another LJ icon.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Oh, gotcha! Cue icon.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Hm. Wait! How about my can-I-borrow-a-feeling shot?



Yeah, the Clockwork Orange thing is starting to become the next burden, but eh, I can weather that. At least it's evoking something rather than nothing. I actually may start dressing in my royal blue bowler to set myself apart...

[pokeyburro.livejournal.com]

Use the bowler or the rose, either. The rose would give better color. But the other point I was trying to make was: if you're gonna say "I Believe in John Hefner", you may as well go whole hog in thy mimicry:

http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Knight-Movie-Poster-Style/dp/B001EB4G54

[pokeyburro.livejournal.com]

Also: I'm being a dumbass. You want to play "shadow of Hugh"? Replace that rose with a copy of Playboy. (Preferably one with just the Bunny icon, like the 40th Anniversary issue; a woman would distract.) You could even growl menacingly behind it.

[ernmissprism.livejournal.com]

I love the shadow bunny idea! You get the point over without sacrificing your own image. And you can keep the old tag line, since it will now make sense even to dunderheads.

Although, you'd look damn cute in bunny ears...

Just remember that the goal of advertising is to get butts in seats. Once they're in, you can do whatever you want.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Egads! NO BUNNIES! Didn't you just read my incredibly long-winded post that would take you an hour to read?

[ernmissprism.livejournal.com]

I understand your reluctance. But I guess I don't see the ad copy and photos as a real compromise of principles, since it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the show. It's like a book jacket and title chosen by an editor to move the books off the shelves. There's no direct connection to the content.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Exactly, and I hate when they pull that shit too. All the more reason it'd be hypocritical. And besides, no one likes to be mislead.

[ernmissprism.livejournal.com]

Fair enough.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

One of the shows I saw, GOD(S), was based on the letters and journal entries of Eric Harris and Dylan Kliebold, with the occasional reference to Zeus and a story from Ovid. The advertising didn't mention anything about this at all, and all the posters, postcards, and blurbs made it sound like an exploration of Greek myth. I can only figure they did it to not scare people off, but even if it worked, several people were displeased (myself included). It's kind of a betrayal of trust, or at least a disappointment as you have to force-shift gears to ready yourself for something completely opposite from what you expected.

That's one of the reasons SWEENEY TODD flopped, because they tried to market the shit out of that film to all the wrong audiences in an attempt to appeal to the hugest possible crowd. People went into that who didn't even know it was a musical, for fuck's sake.

[pondering-duck.livejournal.com]

Kimmy wants to know why Harvey's eyes turned blue after he turned into two-face.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Where/when? They're usually blue in the comics, and the bad side varies.

[pondering-duck.livejournal.com]

Kimmy claims that the actor had brown eyes (she likes the combination between blond hair and brown eyes apparently) up until he got deformed but afterwards he had blue eyes.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Huh! Did not notice that. I will keep an eye out next time, so to speak.

[kiffie.livejournal.com]

Maybe do an illustrated guide of what is and what isn't Hefnerian, ala those "Do/Don't" pictorials.

Is there any way to get a poster full of these? Because that would make the best addition to my wall, ever. X3

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Like I said above, that one's gonna take a lot more work, between thinking up what would go on it and getting someone to design them. But once I do, oh yes, rest assured that there WILL be posters.

[tonks07.livejournal.com]

Funny you should post this,because I actually wore my jokerized I believe in Harvey Dent shirt today! And guys that wear bowlers always win in my book. :)

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Ha, sweetness!

And damn skippy!